After The Room Clears
by wrecking hotel rooms
Summary: Bella always did get what she wanted...


**Disclaimer: What part of "I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does" do you not understand? I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. Was that really so hard?**

**So, yeah, I'm still working really hard on "We Don't Need To Whisper", make no mistake. I'm just digressing, slightly. **

**The song is "The War" by Angels & Airwaves. Enjoy. **

_The ocean is on fire,_

_The sky turned dark again,_

_As the boats came in._

How much longer was I going to have to put up with this? I loved him more than life itself. I was willing to throw away _everything_ for him. I would give him anything – my heart, my life, my _soul_. But he wouldn't accept it.

I had tried every method I could think of to persuade him, and a few I couldn't. No matter what I did, he still refused. He wouldn't damn me, he said. While he was occupied with saving my soul, he was forgetting _me_.

That I was a thinking, feeling, intelligent person capable of making her own decisions, for better or worse. He was so concerned with making certain I stayed human, he ignored everything else. I wouldn't put up with it anymore. Things were going to change.

_And the beaches,_

_Stretched out with soldiers,_

_With their arms and guns,_

_It has just begun._

I had a plan. I had had a plan for months, storming, forming inside my mind, the one place he couldn't reach. It was my last ditch effort, the very worst, but also most effective, idea. I was loath to carry it out. But he left me no choice; it was this or nothing. Play to win, bet it all, and spare no expense. Now, how only to execute this plan of mine.

_Believe, you want this,_

_Believe, I want this too._

It wouldn't be easy, no. But there were many, many ways. My decision would hurt a lot of people. Charlie, Renee, and Jake… even the one I was doing this for. This would hurt him a great deal. This was his own fault, however. He could just give me what I wanted, an eternity with him.

Was that so much to ask? Oh, but it was. It was priceless, valuable beyond measure. Thus, it stands to reason, an equally high price would have to be paid. And I would pay it. Even if it meant going to hell and back.

_Why wont you tell me that,_

_It's almost over?_

_Why must this,_

_Tear my head,_

_Inside out?_

My father's face swam in front of me. The picture of devastation. "Dad, I _have_ to go," I spoke firmly. This was my only opportunity. Once it was gone, so was the hope.

"No, Bells, _please_…please, don't go," he begged, forgetting his masculinity and crying, tears pouring down his face, as a river.

"No, Dad…" My voice was softer, kinder. "Charlie, I _have_ to go," the sound of his name seemed to wake him a bit.

"_Why?_ What purpose will it serve?"

"My destiny, Dad. It lies far beyond the borders of Forks. I've found my reason here. Its time to move on."

"What reason?!? There is no reason in this!"

"Edward. _He's _my reason." I said.

"That boy is the reason you're leaving? _Again?_ He's forcing you to leave, _again_?"

"No! No, _never_. He is my reason for living. I found him here. I found true love here. Isn't that enough? Its more than most people find in a lifetime! Ten lifetimes! I love him. Love can move mountains and level countries. Love is forcing me to leave. _Not him_."

"But Bella…I love you." It was the first time he had said it aloud, to me. He realized this, and said it again. "I love you. _Stay_…for me,"

"I can't Dad. I'm _leaving_ for you." I was speaking no louder than a whisper, and he had to strain to here me. "You never had the chance, Dad. To find true love. I'm doing this for both of us. I have to pursue my fate, wherever it may lead me. Don't you want that for me?"

I saw his face blanch as it dawned on him, the light of truth. He looked at me, and held my glance. I saw the conflict in his eyes.

"Yes." He paused, finalizing his decision. "Go, if you must. You have your heart set on it. And what the heart wants, the heart gets."

"Dad, where I'm going…you _can't_ follow. We shall probably never meet again in this lifetime."

"I know." He smiled sadly, but relished these last few, tender moments all the same.

"You shall always be with me. No matter how this story ends. I love you, Dad." I told him.

"I love you too. Bella, I know you'll find what you're looking for. The journey may be long, and tiring, but you will find your end." He kissed my forehead gently, taking me into his arms. Neither of us were very physically affectionate people, but this was different. We both felt it.

"Thank you. Oh, and Dad…" I hesitated, gathering my thoughts.

"Yes Bella?"

"Tell Mom…tell Mom I finally found my purpose. She'll understand." She would. She knew me better than anyone else on the planet, save Edward. She'd get the hidden meaning. My father accepted, and my mother understood.

"I'll do that. Goodbye. Good luck," Charlie said his parting words. I turned, and walked out the front door, never looking back, the light closing behind me.

I would never see my father again. But I never forgot him. And that was enough. The hardest part, the leaving, was over. My mother would understand, eventually. Jake would too. My father sent me off, with his blessing. I had cut off all ties to the past. Who knew what the future held?

_And the houses,_

_Laid out like targets,_

_With the deafening sound,_

_We watched them all go down._

I gripped the airline ticket tightly, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. This was it. There was no turning back. "This is for him," I chanted. "This is for him,"

_And the families, _

_Now useless bodies,_

_They lay still black and blue,_

_A gift from us to you._

I needed this. Edward and I couldn't keep going, balancing on this tightrope, edging this rocky crevasse the way we were. It was impossible. I would age, and he would never die. The path we were on, the path he had chosen and rode to, stuck on doggedly, had only one outcome.

That outcome was our mutual eventual demise. Unacceptable. Things could change, my condition, the _human_condition, could change. If Edward wouldn't do it, there were others. Others who had no qualms about my soul or eternal damnation or endless wandering.

_Believe, you want this,_

_Believe, I want this too._

The ancient vampire's eyes crinkled in confusion, his pale, wax paper face rumpling and billowing, creasing and folding. My voice was firm, stolid, determined. My stance gave no leniency or hesitancy.

I was here for a reason; my planning had gotten me this far. It was up to fate to do the rest. Should this apparently frail vampire decide to kill me, no force on Earth could stop him. So I released all of my fears, all of my feelings of inadequacy, and spoke…

_Why wont you tell me that,_

_It's almost over? _

_Why must this,_

_Tear my head,_

_Inside out?_

"You _want_ to be changed?" Aro said, incredulity coloring his tone.

"Yes. Edward promised it. I am here to fulfill that promise."

"There is no going back," Aro warned. "Once the venom reaches your system, your fate is sealed."

"I know." I replied. "I want this."

_Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh,_

_Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh,_

_Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh._

Oh The fire. The _fire._ It was everywhere, burning, entrapping me in a red hell from which there was no escape. I could hear and _feel_ my bones snapping, re-aligning, hardening into granite. My ligaments, pulled, switchblades slicing through them.

My veins capsulized, my arteries and capillaries pulverizing. Thick layers of muscle wrapped around my bones, burning and exorcising fat. My blood dried up in my veins, my lungs blackened and died, my liver and kidneys shriveled and stopped working. Finally, my heart stopped beating.

I was a vampire. 

_Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh,  
Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh (Believe),  
Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh._

I stood fluidly, and walked to full-length body mirror Aro had generously provided. I was different, to say the least. Full, voluptuous cherry red lips complemented a heart shaped face with high cheekbones. My too pale skin was even paler, flawless, like marble.

My nose was thinner, my forehead higher. My hair cascaded down my back in waves, a thick, shiny, chestnut mane. Who knew such angelic, perfect beauty could come from someone as plain, as ordinary as me? Because that's what I was; perfect, a dream. A dream that had become reality.

_Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh (Believe, you want this too),  
Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh._

The biggest surprise was my eyes. I had never seen eyes that color, especially on a vampire. Vampires had eyes that were burgundy, gold, or black. My eyes…I suppose you could call it green; a green that put every tree, every plant in every rainforest to shame. A vibrant green, overflowing with life and hope.

The color seemed to reach out and grab you, pull you in, pull you under the sea foam waves. The color sparkled and shone, emitting their own light. The almond eyes, fringed in black velvet, danced, circled, spun, the color rippling.

_Why wont you tell me that,_

_It's almost over?_

_Why must this,_

_Tear my head,_

_Inside out?_

_  
_Aro glided over to me, his face lit with delight. "Look at you!" He sang. "A jewel among vampires. You must glad, dear, for such great favors." He continued. I was, too. Glad I was a vampire, glad I had an eternity, glad I was finally Edward's equal; worthy of him. "Who knew you had such great talent?" Who indeed? "They said I was wasting my time. But look at you now…you're spectacular."

They, they, they. The infamous they. Who were _they_? What gave them the right to _say_ anything?

_Why wont you tell me that,_

_It's almost over?_

Colors whirled and flashed faster than I could comprehend, indiscernible.

I could see colors I had never seen before; indescribable colors that did not exist on Earth. Walls became clear, meaningless. I could vampires, wreathed in color, _auras_, a new, blossoming sense said.

Beyond Volterra, I could see humans moving. Their auras contained tendrils that represented life, every minute, every second, shrinking, their lives becoming shorter and their time on this world disappearing.

_Why must this,_

_Tear my head,_

_Inside out?_

The figures themselves appeared to move in slow motion, even for a human. Their eyes met mine, briefly, boring into me, a signature color bursting from their coronas. The feelings that radiated from there…were uncanny.

They looked ahead and continued, blurring, the outline of their forms streaking into the background, eventually trailing away. Within individual auras, strands of light and darkness intertwined themselves, making up thought patterns, emotions, temperaments, histories, powers, _and futures. _So this is what Aro had meant. This was my power.

_Why must this,_

_Tear my head,_

_Inside out?_

Edward stood in front of me, heartbroken. "You left," he accused, his voice weak, his face full of such grief, as though he had failed something…it hurt.

"Only because you made me," I said truthfully.

_Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh,  
Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh.  
_

Aro rose, and walked out of the room. The guards followed him, and the Cullens went after the guards. Leaving Edward and I alone. We stared at each other silently.

I knew, when I left, before all of this started, that there would be consequences to my actions. That Edward might not ever forgive me for leaving him, for going behind his back, even in the eternity that we had. That _I_ now had, and wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

I didn't regret my decision. I did what needed to be done. If Edward didn't see that, then maybe we weren't meant to be after all. Love forgives, and love forgets. Life, even for a vampire, was far too short, and far too precious, to waste.

_Carpe Diem_. Seize the Day. Somehow, Edward seemed to hear my thoughts, and smiled at me. I smiled back. Who said this wasn't a change for the better? We would have issues for a long time, Edward and I. We both left the other, although with the purest of intentions. It would take time, to fix the problems.

But we had plenty of time, now. We had the whole of eternity.

_Oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh,_

_oh oh oh, oh, oh, oh oh oh, oh oh._

**So…how'd you like? Come on guys, please review. It'd make me reaaally happy. **

**Onto other news: I'm not updating "We Don't Need To Whisper" until I get some more reviews. I'm thinking 55. Two seconds of your life telling me what you think won't kill you. If it does, I'll give you a million dollars. However, I'll need an autopsy. So review! Both this, and "We Don't Need To Whisper". **

_**Just A Little Bit Dramatic: I don't really know what possesses me to put these on here. Mainly to test whether the author of this, or anyone else, actually reads them, I guess. I don't know. Anyway, guys, you have to review, or I wont get to read any more of what she writes. And that's just tragic! Now, we've started a joint account called "masters of randomosity" (unless we DID change it) and our story "Dying Is Your Latest Fashion" is written by both of us…but wont be up for a little while. We're just getting word out…might even release a teaser, lol. Read and review to this, anyway. Everyone who reads it must review!**_


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